New Mexico
The Eastern New Mexico News Archives
Stories about us – Aug. 4
Matt Weiner, The Staff of The News|Updated Aug 3, 2024
Meet Bailey: Bear who poked the bear Willow, a black bear at the Clovis zoo, let out a terrifyingly vicious growl as the tranquility around her was suspended. A stark contrast from Willow’s sister, Bailey, who just wanted tussle on a blistering hot summer day. Willow and Bailey are 16-year-old black bear sisters who share a cage at the zoo. Their differing personalities make for a colorful if complicated relationship. Tayli Freed, their zookeeper, described Bailey as “people…
Covid-19: One Year Later
Updated Aug 3, 2024
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Obituaries
Updated Aug 3, 2024
Puzzles
Updated Aug 3, 2024
Halloween Thrill Guide 2023
Updated Aug 3, 2024
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Salute to Veterans 2023
Updated Aug 3, 2024
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New Mexico agrees to join Direct File program
Albuquerque Journal, Syndicated content|Updated Aug 3, 2024
It may be a little easier to file taxes next year. New Mexico announced Thursday it agreed to join the Internal Revenue Service’s Direct File program, which allows taxpayers to file their taxes free and directly with the IRS online. The program is being expanded after a pilot program in 12 states and 140,000 taxpayers, who claimed more than $90 million in refunds and saved $5.6 million in filing costs, according to the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department. “We’re…
NM counties hear mental health update
Grant McGee, The Staff of The News|Updated Aug 3, 2024
Directors of New Mexico Counties on Friday heard of the intergovernmental workings in the development of the Regional Behavioral Health Facility to be built in Clovis. Curry County Manager Lance Pyle told board members that work on the RBHF may begin late next year at the 18-acre site on West 21st Street near Clovis’ Plains Regional Medical Center. “That’s an optimistic timeline,” Pyle said. Pyle said the development is a partnership between Curry, Roosevelt, De Baca, Quay and Union counties as well as Clovis, Portale…
Governor signs only bill passed in special session
The Santa Fe New Mexican, Syndicated content|Updated Aug 3, 2024
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday signed the only piece of legislation passed during a fleeting special session last month, forgoing any line-item vetoes some lawmakers worried would occur as payback after lawmakers gave her public safety agenda a hard pass. But the two-term Democratic governor, who lambasted members of her own party for failing to even give her proposals a hearing before adjourning within five hours of gaveling in, made no secret of her displeasure. “The Legislature’s failure to prioritize public safety…
Livestock Pavilion ribbon cutting Friday
the Staff of The News|Updated Aug 3, 2024
The ribbon cutting for the new Curry County Multi-Purpose Livestock Pavilion at the county fairgrounds is set for 4:15 p.m. Friday. After the ribbon cutting, those in attendance are invited to tour the new facility. The pavilion is 57,216 square feet and accommodates 250 10-foot by 10-foot stalls, according to a county news release. The facility includes interior and exterior wash stalls for livestock as well as office space and restrooms. The construction cost totaled just under $14.188 million. Funding for the project came…
Ask the News – Aug. 4
the Staff of The News|Updated Aug 3, 2024
What happened to Bingo games at the Fraternal Order of Eagles 3245 in Clovis? They’ll be back soon, said Dean Ferguson, the FOE’s Bingo manager. “A staff permit renewal was overlooked. It’s renewed every three years with the New Mexico Gaming Authority,” Ferguson said Thursday. “The Bingo license is in good standing,” Ferguson added. “All employees have to have a staff permit even though we’re volunteers.” Ferguson said the renewal is “in the process and as soon as it’s renewed, we’ll be back to Bingo.” That will probabl…
Senior calendar – Aug. 4
Updated Aug 3, 2024
Curry Residents Senior Meals Association 901 W. 13th St. Clovis Monday: Sloppy Joe, Green Beans w/Mushrooms, Salad w/Dressing & Peaches. Tuesday: Baked Ham, Sweet Potatoes, Asparagus, Roll w/Margarine, Pineapple Chunks & Vanilla Yogurt. Wednesday: Chicken Ala King, Steam Brown Rice, Carrots, Salad w/Dressing & Fruit Cocktail. Thursday: Chili Dog, Chili Saice, French Fries, Three Bean Salad & Watermelon. Friday: Navajo Taco, Green Chile & Orange. Hilcrest Senior Life Center 1704 E. 7th St, Clovis 575-769-7908 Monday: 9am…
On the shelves – Aug. 4
Updated Aug 3, 2024
The books listed below are now available for checkout at the Clovis-Carver Public Library. The library is open to the public, but patrons can still visit the online catalog at cloviscarverpl.booksys.net/opac/ccpl or call 575-769-7840 to request a specific item for curbside pickup. “Aspen Crossroads” by Janine Rosche. Few in the community of Whisper Canyon have actually met Jace Daring, a recluse who lives at Aspen Crossroads. But that doesn’t stop the rumors about the multiple women who live with him. He must protect the t…
Refrigerated air still working great for me
Karl Terry, Local columnist|Updated Aug 3, 2024
After a really brief but bawdy monsoon season, seems like we’ve jumped straight out into the frying pan around here. Two weeks ago, I logged nearly 2 inches of rain in a little over an hour, triggering a flash flood warning for a couple of days running. A few days later we were receiving heat warnings from the weather services for multiple days. I don’t have a lot of trouble with the heat these days because I don’t have to get out in it. I just turn the thermostat down until…
Our people: Brenda Allen: Small town, big service
Landry Sena, The Staff of The News|Updated Aug 3, 2024
If you’ve traveled U.S. 60-84 through Melrose, chances are you noticed the grain elevator. And if you stopped to take a look around, even better chances are that you met Brenda Allen, who has managed Melrose Grain & Elevator for about seven years. Allen is from Melrose and graduated MHS in 1983. She and her husband decided to take on this service to give back to the small community. Q: What did you imagine yourself doing when you were younger? Did you think you’d always stay…
Curry commissioners approve $60 million budget
Grant McGee, The Staff of The News|Updated Aug 3, 2024
Curry County commissioners on Tuesday approved a $60 million budget for fiscal year 2024-2025. The figure represents about a $5.5 million reduction from fiscal year 2023-2024’s budget of $65.538 million. In presenting the budget to commissioners, County Manager Lance Pyle said the county’s projected revenue for the upcoming fiscal year is $26.192 million. “The rest of the approximately $33.9 million in revenue comes from federal and state monies such as grants, fire funds, road funds, special programs and such,” Pyle said af…
DOH: 4 NM care facilities fail surprise visits
The Santa Fe New Mexican, Syndicated content|Updated Aug 3, 2024
ALBUQUERQUE — When state workers paid a surprise visit to an Albuquerque assisted living facility earlier this year, they stumbled across a family wandering the halls, looking for a relative who lived there. They eventually found her about a mile away. At an Albuquerque nursing home, workers spoke with a woman who was recovering from surgery and had been left in a soiled diaper for 12 hours overnight. She was still clad in a hospital gown after her own clothes got lost in the laundry. The two situations — at Morada Alb…
Opinion: Communists would be proud of Dems
Rube Render, Local columnist|Updated Aug 3, 2024
Some wag once remarked there are 100 people in America who honestly believe they are more than qualified to be president of the United States. These people are called United States senators. Kamala Harris used to be one of them. Having said that, let’s look at what is happening in the Democrat Party, their presidential nomination and their coming convention. If you listened to President Biden’s short speech as to why he stepped down from his certain lock on the nom…
Opinion: Allowing politics to divide us tragic
Kent McManigal, Local columnist|Updated Aug 3, 2024
Politics divides. That’s the nature of the thing; what it’s designed to do. Worse, politics often culminates in elections. Every election feels like the majority coming together to give a mass murderer the keys to my house and holding me at gunpoint to make sure I won’t do anything about it. This is an outcome I can’t consent to. But in the name of democracy — even if it was once a republic — it’s the outcome that is guaranteed every time. Other political systems are not b…
Opinion: Harris candidacy has energized the Democrats
Tom McDonald, Syndicated content|Updated Aug 3, 2024
What a change in the political landscape, with Joe Biden’s cancellation and Kamala Harris now topping the Democratic ticket. Suddenly, Donald Trump is the decrepit old man in the race. The best thing the 78-year-old Trump has going for him are sound bites. Listen to one of his stream-of-consciousness rants in its entirety and you’ll see what I mean. His record-setting (in length) Republican National Convention speech was three times longer than his prepared speech, and 10 times more nonsensical. His ramblings show his age…
Q&A: Police chief answers school questions
David Stevens, The Staff of The News|Updated Aug 3, 2024
Editor’s note: This is one in a continuing series of interviews with local officials. Roy Rice is Clovis’ police chief. This email exchange focused on school safety. Q: School starts again in just a few days. How are you feeling about student safety locally? Are the area districts doing all they can to prevent campus violence? A: I feel the schools are doing quite a bit to ensure student safety. I have attended meetings and training sessions for the staff to enlighten them on…
Roosevelt County officials adopt budget for 2025
Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Aug 3, 2024
Roosevelt County commissioners on Tuesday adopted their 2024-2025 fiscal year budget of $20,480,450.92. Last year’s budget was about $18.8 million, said County Treasurer Layle Sanchez. The cost of doing business on most everything has increased, Sanchez said. This includes the cost of equipment, the cost of fuel, the cost to retain employees and pay their healthcare as well as their benefits. “All those things play a role,” she said. Laura Thompson, deputy county manager and finance administrator, who is the acting county man…
Mediation hopes to resolve school-year dispute
Albuquerque Journal, Syndicated content|Updated Aug 3, 2024
Mediation talks are underway in an effort to resolve a lawsuit filed by a coalition of school districts challenging a controversial scheduling rule requiring public schools to spend 180 days annually with students. State District Judge Dustin Hunter of Roswell last month rescheduled a hearing to Sept. 30 to allow the mediation to continue. The two-month pause comes in a lawsuit filed in April against the state Public Education Department by the New Mexico School Superintendents Association and about 55 of the state’s 89 s…
Taylors to be re-tried in Portales next year
Grant McGee, The Staff of The News|Updated Aug 3, 2024
A new trial early next year has been set for Mary and Sandi Taylor of Portales who were convicted in 2019 for reckless child abuse after they left two toddlers in a hot car in 2017. One of the girls in their care – 22-month-old Maliyah Jones — died, while the other — 23-month-old Aubri Loya — suffered serious injury before recovering. The mother-daughter daycare operators were sentenced to 30-year-plus prison terms. But on appeal, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled in March they both would receive new trials. According t…
Bernie Hall: High class for country kids
Betty Williamson, Local columnist|Updated Aug 3, 2024
I was out of town when Bernalillo Hall – the last remaining high rise on the campus of Eastern New Mexico University – was demolished last month. Even though it had long outlived its useful life, it was bittersweet to see the photos as it came down and even more so to drive past the mountain of rubble last week. Bernalillo opened in the fall of 1967, according to the ENMU yearbook, The Silver Pack, as well as stories in the Portales News-Tribune. Built to house 450 female…
New Mexico
Governor establishes Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council – 13-member council designed to protect ratepayers, modernize the grid – Office of the Governor – Michelle Lujan Grisham
SANTA FE — Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham today signed an executive order establishing the New Mexico Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council to address the rising cost of electricity in a rapidly changing energy landscape.
The Council will convene state agency leaders, utility executives and experts in rural cooperative utilities, tribal energy, consumer advocacy, and energy policy and infrastructure to develop strategies for keeping energy affordable while ensuring the grid can meet the demands of a growing, modernizing New Mexico economy.
“At a time of dramatically rising energy prices, it’s imperative that we do everything we can to protect New Mexico ratepayers while ensuring abundant clean energy supply,” said Governor Lujan Grisham. “The experts I’ve appointed to the New Mexico Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council are well-positioned to make smart, insightful recommendations and I look forward to their findings.”
The Council will evaluate and recommend strategies across four interconnected areas:
- Ratepayer protection: Ensuring that large-load growth — including data centers and onshore manufacturing — does not disproportionately increase costs for residential, rural, tribal and small business customers.
- Grid modernization and reliability: Recommending rate designs and financing strategies that enable prudent infrastructure investment while minimizing long-term rate escalation.
- Clean energy progress: Advancing New Mexico’s net-zero goals under the Energy Transition Act by expanding zero-carbon generation and storage while maintaining affordable access.
- Permitting efficiency: Identifying opportunities to streamline and coordinate state and local permitting for electricity infrastructure — accelerating deployment of clean energy projects without compromising environmental review, tribal consultation, or regulatory safeguards.
The Council will deliver a final report — including legislative, regulatory and administrative recommendations — to the Governor and the Legislature by November 1, 2026.
The Council consists of 13 members representing state government, utilities, rural cooperatives, tribal communities and independent experts:
- Erin Taylor, acting secretary, Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department
- Rob Black, secretary, Economic Development Department
- Cholla Khoury, chief of staff, Public Regulation Commission
- Lynn Mostoller, executive director, Renewable Energy Transmission Authority
- Sunalei Stewart, deputy commissioner for operations, State Land Office
- Don Tarry, president and CEO, TXNM Energy (PNM)
- Kelly A. Tomblin, president and CEO, El Paso Electric
- Zoe Lees, regional vice president, regulatory policy, Xcel Energy
- Vince Martinez, CEO, New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperative Association
- Javier Bucobo, vice president of markets and regulatory affairs, Avangrid (grid infrastructure expert)
- Joseph Yar, attorney, Velarde & Yar (consumer/ratepayer advocate)
- Sandra Begay Keeto, retired, Sandia National Laboratories; member, Navajo Nation (tribal energy expert)
- Rep. Meredith Dixon, New Mexico House of Representatives, District 20 (energy policy expert)
The Council is administratively attached to the Department of Finance and Administration. Members will serve without compensation, other than per diem and mileage as permitted by law.
The executive order can be viewed here.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Republican candidate for governor Duke Rodriguez is suing Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham over her executive order that started universal free child care before a new law takes effect.
The governor enacted the program through executive order in November.
Lawmakers passed a universal child care law during the past session, but that law does not take effect until May 20.
Rodriguez says he objects to some of the rules and to how the governor started the program. The suit asks the Second Judicial District Court to prohibit further enforcement of any regulations tied to the program.
“You could understand an outgoing governor trying to do it for political capital, for expediency just to say, I’m first in the nation.” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez says he is confident he will win and that the rules he is challenging will be struck down.
“We also now have what we call pre emptive eligibility, which means you don’t even have to prove you’re eligible and you’re covered the moment you walk in,” Rodriguez said. “All of those things individually and collectively that have been proposed and changed probably invite fraud, waste and abuse and you know it.”
The governor’s office responds
The governor’s office sent a statement saying the program was properly implemented and that the governor is confident the lawsuit will be rejected.
A spokesperson for the governor sent KOB 4 the following statement:
“This lawsuit makes clear that Mr. Rodriguez has a fundamental misunderstanding how state government works. He states that ECECD did not have the authority to undergo rulemaking regarding universal childcare. They do. He states that ECECD did not have the funding to implement the program when they did their rulemaking. They did. That is why the program was operational in December – before the 2026 Legislative session started. Perhaps more importantly, the lawsuit ignores that the legislature passed SB 241, which codified the program and its future funding into law. The governor is confident that the courts will reject his meritless claims.“
Woody is up for adoption with the City of Albuquerque’s Animal Welfare Department. Meet him here!
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — In this Love 4 Pets, we have Woody, Zwei and Kanai, who are all up for adoption at the City of Albuquerque’s shelters.
Woody is looking for a loving home after going through the ringer. He came to Albuquerque Animal Welfare about a month ago after he was hit by a car. He’s healing from some pelvic fractures and is moving slowly so he can hang out in the backyard and go for short walks.
Woody is very smart and can sleep all night. They believe he is about nine years old and is believed to be a Lab mix. He’s very sweet and is house-trained.
Woody is set to be 100% ready soon. You can meet him in the video above or at the Eastside Animal Shelter (details).
We also have Zwei and Kenai.
Zwei:
An Australian Shepherd mix, Zwei is a little tripod who is a great companion, has wonderful manners and loves to lean into you for hugs. She walks beautifully on a leash and doesn’t miss a beat, even with only three legs.
Zwei is currently in foster care. If you are interested in adopting her, contact Albuquerque Animal Welfare to set up a time to visit her.
Kenai:
Kenai is a Labrador retriever mix. He is a friendly, affectionate boy who enjoys being around people and has good manners. He walks well on a leash and is very excited about exploring the world.
Kenai loves attention, toys (especially stuffed animals) and car rides. So, if you’re looking for an adventure buddy, you can meet him at the Westside Animal Shelter (details).
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